


Til Death Do Us Part

by Bowwy (SpokenOutcast), SpokenOutcast



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Blood and Injury, Catradora Club Discord Server, Character Death, Death, F/F, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Gore, Graphic Description, Major Character Injury, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2020-07-17
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:20:55
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,123
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24410467
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpokenOutcast/pseuds/Bowwy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpokenOutcast/pseuds/SpokenOutcast
Summary: In another timeline, the battle for Catra pans out differently. Shadow Weaver is forced to use dark magic that will cause our heroes to reincarnate until Horde Prime is dealt with. Dying happens, but so does reviving. This entire fic is going to be a green pool of angst with some comedy and fluff tossed in, and yes, I have a happy ending planned but it will be QUITE a ride.
Relationships: Adora/Catra (She-Ra), Bow/Glimmer (She-Ra)
Comments: 8
Kudos: 56





	1. The Curse Was Cast

**Author's Note:**

  * For [belatheo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/belatheo/gifts).



> A lot of this idea can probably be credited to belatheo, who also inspired me to try outlining again. Our favs die in the prologue but trust that they will be back and good as new in the next chapter. For the most part. Enjoy!

**Prologue**

“ Hello, Adora,” Catra cooly cooed. Adora glared at her, but only for a moment. She shouldn’t worry herself too much with Catra, not right now. Not when Horde Prime was staring at her dead in the face and her friends were by her side to take him on with her.

Castaspella was there too, and she was already working on putting up a shield around them so Horde Prime’s clones couldn’t get in their way. Shadow Weaver was, surprisingly, helping her in this.

“ Do you always need to make your puppets do your dirty work?” she spat. Horde Prime merely chuckled.

“I don’t need them to do anything, you see.” He stood with his arms outstretched. Catra’s neck jerked in an unnatural way and her head bent what seemed like a little too far back before her body relaxed and she looked ahead again. “I can do everything,” he spoke through her. Adora grimaced at how her eyes had _his_ glowing pupils in them now. She wasn’t sure it was a step up from the empty green that they were before. “I can do this all on my own if I so choose.” His sick smile painted _her_ face. Adora was sickened by it. She hated what he was doing to her with every fiber of her being.

“ How about you stop being a coward and face us in your own body for once? How many of your puppets do you expect us to fight before you face us yourself?” Catra’s head leaned to one side and she--he quirked a brow.

“ My, someone seems a little upset. Don’t worry, I don’t expect that you’ll be around to fight me much longer.” Catra’s claws unsheathed and she lunged forward, more than ready to strike as he said, “you’re going to die here,  _ Adora! _ ”  In hindsight it didn’t make much sense that he would attack her with Catra and leave his body exposed for Bow and Glimmer to deal with, so Adora wasn’t sure why she was surprised when she went to strike Catra and he’d left her body entirely.

Catra went flying off to her left and Horde Prime came at her from the right. Bow sent a few arrows at him but they didn’t seem to do anything. Prime used the back of his arm to send Adora backward. Glimmer teleported and broke her landing before teleporting again, this time behind their foe. The Queen grabbed one of the tubes attached to his head and pulled. He snarled and reeled on her, punching her much harder than she expected him to. Adora ran at him and slashed with her sword, hoping to do  _ something _ to him. He merely laughed and caught the blade between his hands. Bow took his chance and tried shooting an arrow at his neck, only to yell in annoyance when it bounced off of him.

Horde Prime pushed Adora away from him once again as Glimmer shot a ball of light at his face, distracting him.

She staggered and looked off to her side. Catra was trying to stand up, it was unnatural the way her muscles seemed to jerk with every movement. Adora reached out to her and when Catra looked up, Adora noticed her eyes were her usual yellow and blue, and she was hugging herself.

“ Adora, you should have stayed away,” she called out. “I can’t fight him. I’m not strong enough.” Catra was trembling.

“ You’re wrong, Catra. You  _ are _ strong enough,” she yelled back. “We’re going to get out of here, you’ll see!” Catra lurched forward and took a few steps towards Adora. Adora was on her feet and running towards Catra. 

When Adora’s hands were on Catra’s shoulders, Catra found it in herself to speak again, “ Do you promise?”

“ Yes, we’re getting out of here.” Adora wrapped Catra up in a hug and for a moment they forgot the scene around them. The fight seemed to disappear.

Until Catra dug her nails into Adora’s back. Adora grimaced at the pain. So much for their moment, she thought.

“ You really thought it would be so  _ easy _ ,” Catra hummed. “Horde Prime is the  _ only _ solution. He is the answer to  _ all, _ Adora. Why don't you stop playing this silly game? Join us. Join me. You know you want to.” Adora pushed her friend away and raised her sword defensively.

“ Catra, you need to fight it. I know you can!” Catra lurched forward and slashed at Adora, who battled her away with the broad side of the sword. “I don't want to hurt you; please don't make me do this, Catra.”

“ Stop talking!” she yelled as she lunged forward again, this time ducking under Adora's sword, giving her the chance to tackle the woman to the ground.

“ You don't want to do this, Catra. I know you don't! You wouldn't have freed Glimmer and tried to keep me away just to go and want to kill me, would you?” Catra was pinning Adora's shoulders down, but she was trembling.

“ Adora, I—I don't think I can stop. You need to stop me,” she coughed out. Her expression was one of pain and sorrow. “Stop me, kill me if you have to, but his influence...he—the things... he did. Adora, I  _ can't  _ fight him.” Adora shook her head.

“ You're going to, you don't have a choice, Catra.” She bucked her hips and was on top of Catra, pinning her down. She let go of her sword to pin Catra's wrists down. “I don't want to hurt you.”

“ Stop holding back when I can't.” Her eyes flashed solid green and any trace of Catra seemed to disappear. Adora frowned and kept her iron grip on the woman's wrists. She felt Catra's thumb pop before she saw it, and nearly recoiled in disgust. Catra's free hand ran its claws across Adora's throat and once again the world seemed to still.

Adora choked, confused. What was happening? Where was her strength going? Why was it suddenly harder to breathe? She heard Bow screaming, Glimmer was already on Horde Prime’s back again, trying to yank out his tubes, she guessed. That was his one obvious weakness. Adora fell to her side and looked towards Bow, who was still screaming. Bow knocked an arrow and let it fly at Catra, who was on her knees staring down at the woman she once called a friend, and her hands and clothes which were now red, in horror. The arrow hit her square in the chest and pierced its target. She coughed and Adora saw drops of blood leap out of Catra's mouth.

“ Did you really think I would be so  _ easy _ to kill? You foolish children, I never go into a war that I cannot win.” He scowled at Adora, her sword shaking between her strength and his grip.

“ C--C--” she tried to choke out the woman’s name. She knew it wasn’t her fault; she wanted to at least know she forgave her before she lost her chance. Bow was next to her now, holding his hands on her throat, doing his best to keep the blood in. He was blocking her view of Catra. Bow did his best to hold her neck and prop her head up to stop the bleeding.

“ Shadow Weaver! Do something!” Bow cried out. Shadow Weaver was next to them in an instant, drawing runes on the floor.

“ This wasn't supposed to happen,” she snarled.

“ Please! Just fix her!” Bow cried out. He never imagined how strange it would feel to hold Adora's throat, he never really thought about it in the first place. Now he was trying to stop bleeding but avoid putting enough pressure to choke her. It seemed like an impossible task, and the blood staining his hands made him shudder. He looked over at Catra who had a line of blood dribbling out of her mouth. He swallowed hard. He'd been in plenty of battles but he couldn't recall a time where he just...killed someone without thinking about it. Sure he'd severely hurt a few Horde soldiers before but this...felt different. He felt different. He didn't like it, and yet he blocked out all of his thoughts of Catra and what he'd done and focused back on Adora and keeping her alive long enough for Shadow Weaver to do her work.

The sorceress began chanting something under her breath. Bow kept yelling and pleading in the background, his voice cracking the whole time. Shadow Weaver thought it was rather pathetic how quickly he was falling apart. Still, she sympathized. Her own hands wanted to tremble knowing Adora was about to take her final breaths. So many years spent raising the girl and her friend, and for what? Just so one could be used to kill the other? It  _ angered _ her. Their plans fell apart so  _ quickly _ . If Adora hadn't let her feelings get in the way then she wouldn't be in this mess. There was no way to save her; she was losing blood too quickly and suffocating to boot. Some would call what she was about to do a curse, others would call it a blessing. She feared Adora and her friends would not consider it the latter, but what choice did she have left?

All Adora wanted was to look at Catra so she could try telling her old friend she forgave her--that she more than forgave her. She loved her. But this moment would take away her chance to tell her friend that, and out of everything that probably hurt the most. She thought it strange that Shadow Weaver seemed frazzled. The sorceress never seemed to care for them, she picked favorites but was never truly motherly. She raised soldiers, not children. She would have grinned if she could at least  _ breathe.  _ She kept trying to suck air in but she couldn't seem to get enough.

Glimmer, who was still on Horde Prime’s back, was knocked off when he slammed her into a wall. She fell with a grunt but wasn’t about to give up. She looked towards her friends and saw Adora and Catra on the floor, Bow crying and leaning over one of them and Shadow Weaver drawing runes. A fire burst in her chest. She wanted to scream, wanted to cry, wanted to give up because she had to be living a nightmare. None of this felt real. Everything felt wrong, and yet...she knew better.

She teleported in front of him and cast a light spell in hopes that it would at least disorient him and buy her friends some time. She wasn’t about to let him get to them again. She wasn’t going to give up, it was because of him all of this was happening. Because of him, Adora was dying. Bow was screaming. Catra didn’t get another chance.

Because of Horde Prime, Glimmer’s world was unraveling into the worst hell she could imagine. She was losing everything, because of him. She screamed, and he raised a brow but his smirk did not waver. She continued to cast spells, with more and more ferocity behind them. She at least managed to stagger him and nail him square in the temple with her staff.

Shadow Weaver’s runes lifted into the air and sent themselves into Adora, Catra, Bow, and Glimmer respectively.

“This won’t save her now, but it will save _all_ of us later. She will be reincarnated. All of you will be reincarnated, reborn over and over again until Horde Prime is dealt with. Do you understand?”

“ No! That doesn’t really seem like saving our friend! That sounds a lot like giving up on them, actually!” Bow yelled at her.

“ There’s nothing we can do for them now, Bow. Let her go, let them have each other. They may not have this chance again for quite some time.” Bow sniffled aggressively before moving so Adora could see Catra.

“ They need to keep their names, we need to find them again. Did you think of that?” he asked.

Shadow Weaver nodded. She had indeed, but what she didn't like about this curse was how she didn't have the chance to perfect it. It was possible for their spirits to find a new vessel and had she had more time she would've made that happen. Instead, they would have to be birthed by new parents who would feel a strong inclination to name them respectively. They'd look the same, sound the same, act the same. They'd probably have flashbacks of this moment throughout the rest of their lives. There was nothing she could do to aid them now, she had to help Castaspella keep the shields up. They were already wavering.

Bow sighed and picked up his weapon. He wasn’t sure how he was going to fight knowing Adora’s blood was on his hands, but he knew he couldn’t give up now. If Shadow Weaver was right, they’d all see each other again. He just had to be patient. He just had to  _ fight _ .

Blood dribbled out of Catra’s mouth, she felt...weird. All she could think to do was shuffle closer to her friend and put her hand on Adora’s neck. She’d shed the form of She Ra as soon as she fell to her side, and now it was just them, staring at each other, wishing for better circumstances. There were so many words they wanted to exchange but couldn’t because of their injuries.

Adora passed first, Catra let out something akin to a choking noise. Bow had long since left them to try and help Glimmer fight off Horde Prime. Shadow Weaver watched the scene unfold. To her credit, she seemed rather sad to see Adora go. But when she looked at Catra, all Catra could see was shame. Embarrassment, even.

“ You’ll see each other again, Catra. And next time, you best do a better job than this of taking care of her. I only included you in the reincarnation for Adora’s sake. It was foolish of you to get captured like you did.” Shadow Weaver glared at her before finally turning her attention back towards Castaspella. Catra’s last memory would be of Adora lying dead in front of her.

There was a small break in the fighting, enough of one for Bow to finally speak up and say what he felt he had to.

“It’s over, don’t you get it?” Bow spat. “They’re just going to keep coming back. Shadow Weaver made sure of it. There will be no escape for you, not until we end you. What you’ve done here...it wasn’t _right_. They never did _anything_ to you and you did _this!_ ” He made a show of gesturing to his fallen friends before continuing, “You’re a monster!” Horde Prime seemed to mull this over in his head. His armor had a few dents in it from Glimmer hitting him with her staff, and he looked exhausted. She’d really given him a run for his money, and now that he knew there would be no rest for the wicked why should he stay and fight? He should wait and see to it that he could find Adora and Catra and keep them under lock and key throughout their lives.

“ If what you say is true, then you really are a fool for telling me. I’ll just keep finding them and hiding them. What will you do then?”

“You can act like your plan is foolproof but it's not, we’ll _always_ find them,” Glimmer shot back. He didn’t seem pleased with her attitude and began backing up towards the wall of the bubble.

“ We’ll see about that, princess.” He turned around before continuing, “Brothers! Break this damned bubble and collect the sorcerers! We’ll need them for what’s to come. As for the Queen and her lackey, do with them as you please.” On cue, the clones began hammering into the forcefield, much harder than they were before, and with Castaspella already exhausted and Shadow Weaver using so much of her strength on the curse, it fell. The team was swarmed and the sorcerers were taken. Glimmer only had time to teleport her and Bow out and, with how much energy she’d spent on her spells, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get the others even if she had time.

“ What do we do now?” she asked, panting. Bow sat on the ground with his hands on the sides of his head, as if the world were crashing down on him. “Bow? Bow--”

“ I--I--she died, Glimmer.” He looked up at her, his eyes wide. “I held her as she was dying. We couldn’t save them and--now we have to wait? Shadow Weaver said they’d be back; she promised they’d be back...but...she died and--I couldn’t--I--”

“ Hey, shh. It’s going to be okay, I know. We...lost her.” Tears welled up in her eyes as she held her panicking friend. “She’ll be back. Adora always finds a way out of these messes.”

“ Adora’s never died before. What if she can’t come back?” He asked. Glimmer moved back and held his face in her hands. 

“ Adora’s never given up before, Bow. She has no reason to give up now. If Shadow Weaver said she’d be back then...we just have to believe her. That’s all we have. For now, we just...keep pushing the Horde back as much as possible and get ready for her and Catra’s return.” His body wracked with sobs and she found herself hugging him again. Her heart ached for her friend, he was covered in Adora’s blood.

“ I...I killed Catra. I...that’s not me, Glimmer. I don’t do things like that.”

“ It’s...it’s okay Bow, she’ll be back too,” she tried to reassure him.

“But I _killed_ someone,” he sobbed.

“ Let’s just get back to the base and get cleaned up. We can’t stay here, Bow. The clones will close in on us any second.” He shuddered but nodded. She’d never seen him in such a sorry state before and didn’t expect him to come back from this anytime soon. What had they gotten themselves into?


	2. We Met Way Back When

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow yeah I didn't get around to posting this 'til now. The rough draft has been done for an age and a half, as I said it was, but just got around to finishing revising the things the betas suggested. 
> 
> Chapter 2 has already been started, by chapter 2 I mean what archive will consider chapter 3 because we aren't allowed prologue in this business lmao

All Adora knew at first was light. She was surrounded by it, made of it, felt it. She was as fast as it, maybe faster given light didn’t typically have legs. She saw a door and it opened before her. It was as if she were looking through someone else’s eyes. There were no seats, there was no floor, just a scene playing out before her. She heard someone saying, “Push!” and realized a woman was screaming. Just as the doctor said, “It’s a girl!” Adora walked through. 

She felt herself...floating--no--being carried towards someone. Then she was surrounded by warmth, lots of it. She heard things, but she couldn’t understand the world around her. Things were confusing, more confusing than she...remembered? Did she have a memory? She looked up at the creature holding her now. This was...a mother. Her mother. 

“Oh, look at her! Blue eyes just like her grandfather,” the woman said. Not that Adora could understand. “I think we should name her...Adora.” 

“I think that would be a mighty fine name,” someone else said. “Adora...yes, it’s perfect. She’s...adorable. It works. I’m not sure why it works, but it works.” The only thing she could comprehend was the word they were saying. Adora...it felt...familiar. She felt a laugh bubble up from her belly. They cooed at her some more before she got tired and yawned. This was...strange. All of it felt like it was supposed to be happening, and yet something seemed wrong. No matter. Everything would work itself out.

Adora would grow up with caring parents. She made friends easily enough. neighbors would ask her to join them when they wanted to play ball. Her folks were proud of her, and for a long time that was all she really needed. Their approval meant the world to her and she loved them dearly. Sometimes she’d run into situations and feel like she’d been through them before, but she’d shake her head at the thought. There was no way she could have lived through some of those things. She _felt_ like she could remember, but it eluded her, escaping to the farthest corners of her memory.

It annoyed her that she didn’t have memories of what she felt like she’d lived through before. She didn’t recall her past life until she was walking through a city with her parents and bumped nearly bumped into a light post.

“Adora, watch where you’re going. Honestly, I wonder if we should make you leave those books at home,” her mother chastised her. 

“Sorry ma,” she said. She looked ahead and saw her. A name echoed in her head and chills went up her spine. She felt the hair on her arms stand on end and dropped her book. 

“What’s gotten into you now?” Her father asked. All she could do was point. Her parents' eyebrows furrowed as they looked at the girl their daughter was pointing at. “It’s rude to point. You’ve seen magicats before. Adora put your hand down.” Adora did as she was told but when the girl looked at her something clicked. Blue eyes locked with heterochromatic ones and she could tell she’d had a similar effect on the magicat as she’d had on her. She remembered seeing this girl. They were friends once, she finally had a memory of something she felt was familiar but not from this lifetime.

They were playing together, sparring maybe? It didn’t matter. She remembered how this girl made her feel. She was reminded of belly laughs and the feeling of...getting up to no-good and not getting caught. This girl was...something else entirely, something Adora hadn’t felt yet. It felt like magnetism, attraction, comfort, home. Why did she feel all of these things--why did she remember growing up with this girl? The memories were foggy but they were there. Maybe if she had the chance to dig deeper...

The girl’s name continued to echo in her head and she finally said it out loud, “Catra?” The magicat shook her head and Adora frowned, thinking she meant no. 

“N-No--I mean--Adora?” They walked towards each other, their parents confused.

“Catra how do you know this girl?” Catra’s mother asked. 

“I’m not sure,” she mumbled. 

Unbeknownst to both of the girls at the time, this would spark a friendship like they’d never had in this life. Their parents would become good friends with each other and Catra would visit Adora every chance she got, which was often enough because they didn’t actually live very far from each other. Catra’s parents decided to move to Etheria to get away from some shady dealings in Half Moon. Adora’s parents decided not to judge, after all, their kids got along tremendously. They all just wanted their kids to be happy; if that meant Adora wanted to see Catra every day, so be it. They were willing to make it happen.

They’d even have sleepovers. Usually, Catra would stay at Adora’s house, but it wasn’t unheard of for Adora to stay at Catra’s. In their time together they would discuss their flashbacks, and the memories were getting more and more frequent. They’d at least come to the conclusion that this wasn’t their first life; they just weren’t sure what led up to them being reincarnated. Something had been troubling Catra all day and Adora wasn’t about to let it slide.

“What’re you thinking about?” She asked. Catra, who was zoning out while looking at the clouds. She jumped and looked at her as if she’d forgotten they were having a picnic together.

“Oh, nothing,” she said.

“You’re a terrible liar,” Adora deadpanned. 

“Really? I don’t think I am.”

“Out with it, Catra,” she pushed. Catra sighed.

“I just...we’ve talked about a lot of different flashbacks but...haven’t you noticed we don’t remember being old? It’s like we...died when we were young.” Adora had noticed that, but she hadn’t thought to mention it. She figured it would be better if they didn’t dwell on how they died in the past, it seemed too morbid. They were alive now and that’s what mattered, right? 

“I don’t think it matters when we died, Catra. I think we should probably focus on the future. The memories are just...there to tell us that we know each other.” 

“I don’t think that’s it. I think there’s something else going on...I just can’t remember.” Catra looked back up at the clouds and Adora frowned. Something pushed forward at the back of Catra’s mind, she just couldn’t figure out what was trying to come to the surface. She didn’t really expect Adora to agree with her, she seemed more content just believing they were always meant to be friends. That wasn’t enough for Catra. If they were only meant to be friends why didn’t she have memories of other people from her previous life? She’d never bumped into someone else and... _felt_ something like she had with Adora.

“Maybe we can think about it tonight and come up with an answer in the morning. Come on,” Adora stood and offered her hand out for Catra to grab. She looked at it and tilted her head. That...gesture. It was so familiar. For some reason, it left a bitter taste in her mouth. 

“Adora, does this remind you of something?” She asked, looking up at her friend. Adora took back her hand and rested it on the nape of her neck. 

“I...guess? It didn’t feel like a bad thing, it felt...like something I’d done before.” Catra nodded and helped herself up out of her sitting position.

“I wish these memories came easier than they have been,” Catra sighed. “Would be nice to have more answers than questions for a change.” 

“Yeah, I know what you mean. Let’s get back to the house, it’s gonna get dark soon.” Catra nodded and knelt down to put the leftover food in the basket they’d brought. She remembered something then.

 _Hiding_. She was hiding and... _listening_ to something Adora was saying. Adora wasn’t alone, she was talking to something. Catra peaked and it looked like a hologram. Adora said a name...what was it? Catra shook her head but the words “Light Hope” played over and over in her mind. 

“What’s wrong?” Adora asked. “Did you just have a flashback?” Catra nodded.

“Yeah, I was...I think I was spying on you. Why would I do that?” Adora shrugged.

“Maybe we weren’t always friends. What happened?”

“You were talking to a hologram...I think its name was Light Hope.” She looked up in time to see Adora shudder.

“That does sound weirdly familiar.”

“It was a hologram, do you think it’s still around? Maybe if we find it, we can get some answers.” 

“The only problem is I don’t know where she is or how to find her.” Catra shrugged and finished packing up the food before standing. 

“I guess that’s just another dead end. Ugh!” She ran her hands through her hair. “I’m so sick of this, I want to know what happened. Something feels wrong about all of this. Like we’re supposed to do something! Don’t you feel it too?” Adora grabbed her elbow and raised her shoulders for a second before dropping them back down.

“I think you’re right. I feel like we’re supposed to do something but I don’t think we’re supposed to do it yet. We need to wait for someone. Maybe a few people. We had other friends but I can’t place them.”

“Adora I think it was _you_ that had other friends. I’m pretty sure they didn’t like me.”

“What makes you say that?” Catra shook her head.

“A feeling. And our feelings tend to be right.” They both looked off into the distance and watched as the sky turned orange. 

“Come on, ma and pa will be wondering where we’ve gone.” They walked back without saying much else. What could they talk about? Catra was frustrated and Adora didn’t want to aggravate her more. They just wanted answers and they didn’t know who to go to with their questions.

Catra was right, though. Adora remembered the name _Light Hope_. She feared what might come of remembering what she talked to the hologram about and why she knew it in the first place, but she knew it was important. 

Some time would pass, they would get their flashbacks from time to time and every now and again they’d question something they’d seen. Was it possible they were enemies? It didn’t make sense to them, they had so many fond feelings for each other, what would drive them apart? And then one day, when they were both newly 17, a man and a woman visited Adora’s parents when they were in the yard.

“Adora,” her mother called out to her. 

“Yes, ma?” 

“There are some people here that would...like to see you.” She looked at Catra, confused. They began walking towards the house together. 

“What do you think they want?” Catra asked.

“I don’t know,” she replied. It wasn’t like she’d been getting into trouble. She’d been minding her business and only really hanging around Catra for as long as they’d known each other. When they stepped into the house, someone yelled. 

“It’s you!” The woman said. Adora and Catra tilted their heads in unison. The man crouched slightly from excitement.

“Finally!” he said, “Do you even realize how long it took us to find you two?” Adora looked at her mother who was solemnly staring at the ground. Adora looked back at the duo and thought for a moment.

“Oh! You’re Queen Glimmer, your highness I’m so sorry!” She promptly bowed and Glimmer laughed coolly.

“That’s...really unnecessary, Adora,” she said.

“Sorry to butt in,” Catra piped up, “but what do you two want with Adora? And--did you say you _two_ earlier? What could you possibly want with me?” 

“You guys really don’t remember us, huh?” The man said. Adore and Catra shook their heads. “It looks like we have a lot to talk about. We can get reacquainted back in Brightmoon.” 

“Brightmoon? I can’t go all the way to Brightmoon, what about ma and pa?” 

“Adora,” her father spoke up, “they’ve informed us that...this is something you must do. I won’t pretend to understand it fully myself but I’m not going to question the Queen. I suppose you and Catra will be living with Glimmer and Bow now, but don’t worry! They’ve told us we can visit any time.” 

“What? How are you okay with this?!” 

“Calm down, Adora. Everything will be alright. They’re going to explain some things to you on the way but there is something you must do that you can’t prepare for here. We want our little girl to have the best chance at...whatever it is they ask of you.” Bow nodded.

“I know things are scary and confusing right now but I promise everything will make sense when we get back to Brightmoon. You two found each other on your own, did you feel a connection as soon as you met?” Adora and Catra exchanged glances.

“You could say that,” Catra mumbled. 

“Do you know why you felt a connection?” He prompted. 

“We have a theory but--” Adora’s eyes shot back towards her parents, ashamed that she’d never told them anything. They looked terribly confused and distraught. Her heart sank and she looked at her shoes. Glimmer looked at the scene before her and released a breath she didn’t know she’d been holding. She knelt in front of Adora and smiled as she rested a hand on her shoulder.

“I promise, we’re going to help you.” She looked at Catra and put a hand on the magicat’s shoulder too. “Both of you.”

“What makes you think we need help?” Catra shot back, brushing Glimmer’s hand away.

“Catra,” Adora said lowly, looking between the Queen and her friend as if to say _act cool_. 

“No, I want to know. What’s so important that you need to take us from our homes? We have parents!” Glimmer’s face painted itself with sadness.

“You didn’t last time and now you don’t want to lose them.” Catra crossed her arms and looked away. Damn Glimmer for reading her thoughts. And how did she even know Catra was an orphan last time? She looked back at the Queen.

“You...did know us.” Glimmer nodded. “How?” 

“We’re not sure how to trigger your memories but Bow, Adora, and I were in the best friends squad. You were...going to join us, I think.” Adora shuddered at the mention of their team’s nickname. Glimmer looked over.

“I remember,” Adora said. “You two took me in when I found the sword.” 

“You could say that,” Bow agreed. “But really guys we should get back to Brightmoon. Now that we know where you are, it’s only a matter of time until someone _very_ bad knows where you are. We want to tell you everything but this isn’t the safest place for us to be in.” Catra looked at Adora when Bow finished talking and they exchanged a silent message.

“What about my parents?” Catra asked. Bow rubbed the back of his neck. 

“They’ll have to meet us there, I’m afraid. On the bright side, Adora’s parents already informed them of the situation before you were called in.”

“I don’t even get to say goodbye?” Catra felt...heartbroken. Bow raised his hands defensively at that.

“It’s not a goodbye forever, it’s a goodbye for now.” Catra wondered if there was any point in fighting them on this. Everyone seemed to have their mind made up, even Adora albeit begrudgingly. She shrugged and gave an indignant _whatever_ as she walked out the front door. She wasn’t about to lose Adora, and if Adora thought going with them was a good idea then...she decided it would be better to follow her this time.

She recalled a time when Adora asked her to join her, _the rebellion_. Adora had left everything they knew then, too and Catra foolishly stayed behind. _She left_ she heard herself say in a distant memory. Had Adora left her? Or had Catra been too afraid to follow? She shook her head. It didn’t matter. She was reincarnated for a reason and Adora was too, they ought to stick together. She just wished she’d had more time with her parents. 

Once upon a time she’d had none, she’d only known the cold embrace of a militant school. She only knew the rations that they fed the kids so they’d survive but wouldn’t know luxury. She couldn’t recall what a bird tasted like from her past life, let alone any of the home-cooked meals her parents would make for her. She’d talked to Adora about most of her flashbacks, and Adora had let her know most of hers, so she wasn’t sure why she still felt so _alone_. _Get a grip,_ she told herself. She’d literally escaped death. She should be happy she’s not in a hole somewhere and is in a new body instead. 

Glimmer put a hand on her shoulder and she jumped. 

“Hey! Don’t sneak up on me like that,” she yelled. Glimmer raised her hand apologetically.

“Sorry, are you ready to go?”

“I guess. It’s not like you’re letting me go home to grab my stuff first.”

“We can visit your parents’ house in a few days when we know it’s safe. Then you’ll be able to grab everything you could possibly want.” Catra crossed her arms again and huffed. 

“Let’s just go.” She looked around for a carriage but didn’t see one. “Where’s your carriage?” Glimmer giggled at the question.

“Sorry to do this to you,” she said. “Everyone get in a circle.” Adora linked arms with Catra and Bow, and Glimmer followed suit, linking arms with the man and her. She closed her eyes and suddenly the world fell out from under Catra’s feet. She screamed.

They appeared in the throne room. Catra was still screaming as if she were falling from a height even she couldn’t land on her feet.

Adora giggled and pushed Catra. The magicat opened her eyes and looked around, up, down, left, right. She glared at Glimmer.

“Hey what’s the big idea? You could’ve warned us!” Glimmer was trying to hide her smile behind her hand but she was clearly giggling too. Catra looked at Adora in hopes she could have some semblance of help trying to defend herself, but the blonde was full belly laughing at the scene before her. Catra’s ears lowered and she crossed her arms. “Whatever. You’re all jerks.” Bow chuckled and finally intervened.

“Come on, let’s get you two acquainted with your rooms. I think they’ll be to your liking.” Adora stopped laughing and blinked once. Twice. 

“Rooms as in plural? Our own?” She asked. Bow nodded.

“Of course! It’s a castle, what’d you expect?” 

“I...don’t know, I guess I just expected we’d be bunkmates or something.” Bow looked at Glimmer before he pulled the Queen away from the group and began talking, leaving the girls out of the conversation. 

“Weren’t they bunkmates when they were with the horde?” He whispered. Glimmer nodded.

“I think so. Do you think making them roommates will trigger more of their memories?” Bow nodded. “Well, let’s adjust our plan then. I’ll go tell the staff to rearrange one of their rooms, you keep them busy so they don’t get bored and--” Glimmer turned around and her face dropped. “-- where are they?” Bow followed suit and smacked his palm against his forehead.

“They’re really bad at staying still,” he groaned. 

“Find them, I’ll be back as soon as I can,” Glimmer said. Bow sighed as he began walking towards the door, Glimmer teleported away. 

Catra was holding Adora’s hand as they ran through the castle. She didn’t think much of it, the gesture was simply something that came naturally. They stopped abruptly in front of the kitchen.

“Do you smell that?” Catra asked.

“It smells...really good,” Adora affirmed. 

“How much trouble do you think we’ll get in if we check it out?” She asked. Adora shrugged. 

“We technically live here but maybe we should wait for Bow.”

“You’ve always been a goody-two-shoes, Adora,” Catra said, smirking. 

“Shut it, it’s not that I’m _scared_ I just think it’d be rude if we barged in unannounced.” Catra shrugged and was about to walk forward and push the door open when Bow rounded the corner and yelled.

“Hey! You guys are _really_ fast,” he stopped running when he was in front of them and put his hands on his knees to catch his breath. “What’re you doing?” Adora jumped in front of Catra and began apologizing for running away, Bow’s brows furrowed. “Why are you making it sound like you’re in trouble?” Both of the girls froze up.

“We’re...not?” Catra asked. Bow shook his head.

“No. What’s wrong? Were you hungry?” Adora shrugged.

“We wanted to explore and ended up stopping here because the food smelled really good.” Catra rolled her eyes.

“Sure, Adora. Technically it was me that dragged Adora away, she was content to sit there and stare at your backs. I wanted to do something fun.” She stepped out from behind Adora and leaned against the wall next to her. “Always playing the hero.” Bow’s eyes lit up and he grinned.

“You two are adorable!” 

“What?” They simultaneously deadpanned. 

“Really, it’s no wonder Adora was so attached--” his eyes widened and he clamped both of his hands over his mouth, one over the other as if one wouldn’t be enough to shut him up.

“What?” Catra growled. “What do you know?” He shook his head.

“Everything will be explained soon, why don’t we go and grab some food? That’s what you two wanted, isn’t it?” 

“I am pretty hungry,” Adora mumbled. Catra’s tail lashed angrily behind her but for Adora’s sake, she decided to let Bow tell them in his own time.

“Let’s just get this over with,” the magicat grumbled. 

“Great! Follow me,” Bow ordered as he pushed through the kitchen doors. The girls followed closely behind him. 

The trio’s eyes lit up, which was somewhat surprising because Bow had definitely been in the kitchen before. The chefs were hard at work making something in a large pot and checking their ovens every so often.

“Can we get something quick for the girls here?” Bow asked someone. The chef nodded, happy to help. They went into one of the large industrial fridges and pulled out a platter of...miniature cupcakes.

“Uh, what are those?” Catra asked. 

“Surely you’ve seen a cupcake before,” Bow made it sound more like a question than a statement.

“Well, yeah, but why is it so small?"

“Entrapta’s favorite,” the chef said. “Here, try one.” They put the cupcake in Catra’s palm and she looked at it. Adora happily grabbed one and immediately popped it into her mouth. _Entrapta_ , Catra thought. Then it hit here why that name was so familiar. She recoiled and dropped the small food item on the floor. The chef frowned, probably more out of concern for her than the wasted food. 

“I can’t eat that,” she hissed. 

“Wha--?” Adora tried to talk with food in her mouth. She’d taken more than a few cupcakes off of the platter by then.

“Entrapta, I remember that name, and she--I--I don’t think she likes me very much.” Bow’s brows furrowed.

“Whatever you did before, it’s okay Catra.” He put his hand reassuringly on her shoulder, and she swatted it away. 

“You don’t know that! You have no idea what I’ve done,” she hissed. He shook his head.

“I know plenty about what you’ve done, and more importantly, what you’ve been through. It’s okay. You did what you thought you had to. You can get closure from the people you hurt. I’ve already talked to plenty of them and everyone says you were just...a kid. Adora saw something in you that for a while nobody else could. I’ve made mistakes too, you know.” Bow looked away as if he were remembering something he wished he could forget. “You’re going to be fine, Catra,” he promised. Before Catra can think to say anything else, Glimmer teleports into the kitchen next to them. They all jump at the random appearance of the woman.

“I don’t think I’ll ever get used to that,” Catra groaned. 

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I have a terrible track record of following through with multi-chapter projects but this one's outline is going very well! And I don't usually do outlines to boot! I already have the next chapter written and it's even longer than this, but I'd like more beta readers. If that's something you'd be interested in doing or if you don't care to beta but would like to stop by the discord and scream about the ship with me and quite a few other people, here's the link to do so:  
>  [ Catadora Club discord](https://discord.gg/fB4mY72)


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